Kansas City Chiefs: Predicting 5 Possibilities for Prime-Time Games

Jamie Squire/Getty ImagesAndy Studebaker paves the way for Dexter McCluster on a punt return during Week 1 of Monday Night Football in 2010.

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The National Football League is expected to announce the 2012 regular-season schedule Tuesday evening.

Football fans across the country wait in anticipation to see if their favorite team earned the opportunity to play a prime time game in front of a national audience. Football fans in Kansas City are no exception to that as they got a chance to see their team play on prime time three times.

Last year, the Chiefs played the Chargers in an epic Monday Night Football game, defeating San Diego in the only Monday Night Football game that went to overtime in 2011.

The Chiefs were blown out in another Monday Night Football contest at New England but gave Pittsburgh a run for their money in Kansas City on Sunday Night Football.

To remind everyone, the Chiefs have the following home and away opponents:

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Both the Buccaneers and the Chiefs took a step back in 2011 after a successful 2010 season.

Tampa Bay general manager Mark Dominik gave the Buccaneers a boost by signing the top guard and wide receiver in this year's free-agent class. Quarterback Josh Freeman will have a reliable guard in Carl Nicks, who came from a division rival, and a dominant receiver in Vincent Jackson. Freeman will have a lot to work with as the Buccaneers look to bounce back in 2012.

On the other hand, Kansas City general manager Scott Pioli gave quarterback Matt Cassel exactly what he needed. After adding some depth to the offense, Pioli's biggest move this offseason was coming to terms with offensive tackle Eric Winston.

Both the Chiefs and the Buccaneers look to have a strong draft and put themselves in a position to compete in their respective divisions. The NFL can showcase these two teams. Fans might be in for a good battle between two franchises that could surprise a lot of people this year.

Atlanta Falcons

This might be considered a long shot as fans don't seem to care very much for players visiting their former teams.

Brett Favre made a big impact for the Green Bay Packers and left the franchise on slightly bad terms. His first-ever match against the Vikings in Minnesota was nationally televised, but his first visit to Green Bay as a visiting player was only shown to a large audience on FOX.

Tony Gonzalez's situation was also different than Favre's. Favre made a big impact on the Packers organization as he won a Super Bowl and three MVP awards.

Unlike Favre, Gonzalez left the franchise on positive terms with a goodbye press conference. While he did, statistically, become the best tight end in NFL history, he could not make as big of an impact for the Chiefs, much like Favre did for the Packers. Let alone the fact Gonzalez has yet to win a postseason game.

That's what makes this game a long shot to be shown nationally. Nonetheless, it will be interesting to see how fans in Kansas City react when Arrowhead Stadium's public address announcer says Gonzalez's name. Having it on prime time might make it better.

As far as level of competition goes, the Chiefs franchise seem to play as well as the Falcons ever have since they have made the postseason three of the four years Matt Ryan has been their quarterback.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Jamie Squire/Getty Images

Location: Pittsburgh

Selling point: Rematch of last year's Sunday Night Football game and Todd Haley facing the Chiefs.

When the NFL scheduled the Chiefs and Steelers on Sunday Night Football, it was expected that the two teams were going to feature their prominent players. Instead, the Chiefs had to play with quarterback Tyler Palko while Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger had a bad showing.

The game ended up being a low-scoring contest with the Chiefs not being able to come away with a touchdown.

Perhaps a rematch, with a healthier and focused group of players on each side, could make for an intriguing game. It is what the league wants for their prime-time games. If the Chiefs and Steelers are given another chance, fans might like what they see.

Todd Haley is also the new offensive coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers after the Chiefs let him go with three games remaining last year. Seeing Romeo Crennel's defense against Haley's offense would be fun to watch.

San Diego Chargers

Selling point: Last two Monday Night Football meetings between the two teams.

Any casual football fan who has followed all of the prime-time games the last two seasons can't be opposed to this idea.

While Chargers fans have not enjoyed the final outcome of the previous prime-time meetings between the two teams, football fans around the world have enjoyed seeing these two teams play against each other.

The Chiefs shocked the world in 2010 when they defeated the Chargers in Week 1 on Monday Night Football, 21-14. The two teams played again last season during Halloween on Monday night in a thriller after Philip Rivers fumbled a snap when it appeared that the Chargers head to game under their control late in the fourth quarter.

The Chiefs won in overtime, 23-20, making it the only Monday Night Football game that went to overtime last season.

So what reason is there for these two teams to not meet again on prime time? Specifically on ESPN? It has helped add some fuel to the rivalry and give fans an intense game to watch on Monday night.